A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Tongan islands at 9:19 this morning, Friday June 27th 2008, New Zealand time. The quake was located 200 km east-north-east of the Tongan capital Nuku’Alofa (235 km south-south-east of Neiafu in the Vava’u Group) at a depth of 20 km. The USGS reports that the depth of the event has an uncertainty of +/- 32.5 km at this stage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has not issued a bulletin for the event.

Geoscience Australia report the quake as magnitude 6.2 at a depth of 60 km. They calculate that damage from the quake would have occurred within 44 km of the epicentre, and the quake would have been felt up to 560 km away.

[Compiled from data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and its contributing agencies, and Geoscience Australia.]

A large earthquake struck to the south of the Kermadec Islands this afternoon.

The shallow magnitude 5.7 event was located 255 km south-south-west of L’Esperance Rock at a depth of 35 km. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday the 11th of June 2008, was 520 km south-south-west of Raoul Island, 595 km north-east of Auckland.

[Compiled from data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and its contributing agencies.]